Anand Amritraj: There is going to be a lull in doubles for the next few years

Though India has some presence in the singles side of the ATP through Prajnesh Gunneswaran, the doubles side has gone a bit cold since Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi dominance came to an end. The next generation of doubles players is well in their 30s: Divij Sharan is 33, Purav Raja is 34, Vishnu Vardhan is 32, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan is 31 and N Sriram Balaji, the youngest, will turn 30 in March.

With Leander Paes in his final year on tour, Indian doubles is in a tricky spot. “There is going to be a lull in doubles for the next few years,” former India Davis Cup captain Anand Amritraj said. “I don’t think any of the younger players are interested in playing doubles, more importantly none of them know how to volley, which is a big part in doubles.”

Amritraj further commented, “The one way to counter them is to have a solid team. You have to stick to a partner for at least a year, build a chemistry and understanding, to give yourself a chance. But unfortunately, no one wants to do that now.”

“I think the comparisons (with Paes, Bhupathi) are inevitable,” Raja added, who teamed up with Paes briefly in 2017. “But doubles is a completely different sport now. As we saw at the Australian Open, anyone can win a doubles title now, the field is wide open. It is like comparing Ramanathan Krishnan and Somdev Devvarman; while Krishnan had to compete with 200 players, Somdev had to compete with 2000.”

 “It is difficult for us to get into tour events,” Raja said. “We need the ranking points. So right now, given that we have absolutely no structure in India and very little help, just the fact that some of us are qualifying for Grand Slams is a good thing.”

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/399Aal8